Shank of four-piece forging of golf club head

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a shank of a four-piece forging of golf club head. Atop piece of the four-piece forging of club head forms, at a portion thereof adjacent to the shank, a two-staged structure of an outward flaring sector-shaped connection portion that is combined with the shank, whereby an abutting condition exhibiting a smooth surface is formed at a jointing site between the shank and the club head in the course of performing welding operation between the shank and the club head for reducing the amount of filling material used in carrying out the welding operation and making the welding operation, as well as the subsequent grinding operation, easier and smoother. Thus, with the quality improved, the flexibility of design can also be enhanced to reduce the machining time and the manufacturing costs.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a shank of a four-piece forging of golf club head, and particularly to a structure that reduces machining time for the welding operation that connects a shank portion made by metal lathing or forging and a forged head portion, and also makes subsequent grinding easy and reduces the overall manufacturing costs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Golf is a popular sport game, which is good for both individual's heath and social relationship. Due to various reports regarding golf games made by the mass media, golf has a great number of fans and players. However, to play a game of golf, besides training and practice of club swing that makes perfect of club swing, good quality of golf clubs is also a major factor in improving ball striking performance for playing a game. For a golf club, it comprises a head coupled to a shaft. A user or a player holds a grip formed on an upper end of the shaft to swing the club so as to hit a golf ball with the head. The golf clubs that drive a ball is classified as wooden clubs and iron clubs, the former being used for long-distance drive, while the later for short-distance shot. Both clubs are comprised of a head and a shaft. As shown in FIG. 1, for a forged head used in a wooden club, it is comprised of a shank portion 1 and a head portion 2 that are made separately by forging and then welded together. Such a structure has been used for years. Although it provides a unitary structure, the connection between the shank portion 1 and the head portion 2 is made a right angle, which can only be filled up with a lot of filling material in carrying out the welding operation and correspondingly, the time required for machining is also extended. Consequently, the costs for material and working hour are increased, leading to raised overall manufacturing cost. Further, since the connection between the shank portion 1 and the head portion 2 is a right angle, grinding operation that takes place after the welding operation is also difficult whereby the quality of the final product cannot be precisely controlled to the optimum. The state-of-the-art manufacturing provides no solution to these problems yet and thus, further improvement is needed at least in this respect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide a shank of a four-piece forging of golf club head, wherein a lower end of the shank is made to provide a smooth connection at the location jointing to the head portion so as to reduce the amount of filling material and the operation time used in carrying out a welding operation and also to make the subsequent grinding operation easy.

The shank of the four-piece forging of golf club head is directed to a shank portion that is formed by lathing for mating and connecting with a forged head portion by welding to provide a unitary structure, a top piece of the four-piece forging of club head forms, at a portion thereof adjacent to the shank, a two-staged structure of an outward flaring sector-shaped connection portion that is combined with the shank, whereby the connection portion provides an abutting condition exhibiting a smooth surface, which facilitates the performance of welding operation and also simplifies the operation of subsequent grinding so that efficiency of machining and reduction of costs can be realized.

The foregoing objective and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional connection between forged shank and club head.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the connection of a shank and a club head in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top plan view of the shank of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the shank and the club head in accordance with the present invention in an exploded form.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the shank and the club head in accordance with the present invention in an assembled form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The present invention aims to connect a shank that is made by lathing to a forged club head by welding to form a unitary structure. With reference to FIGS. 2-4, the present invention provides a four-piece forging of club head that has a top piece forming, at a portion thereof adjacent to the shank, a two-staged structure of an outward flaring sector-shaped connection portion that is combined with the shank. Also referring to FIGS. 4-6, the shank, which is designated at 3, has a lower end that forms the connection portion designated at 4. To perform welding operation between the shank 3 and the club head, which is designated at 5, the lower end of the shank 3 is fit into an opening defined in the club head 5 whereby the connection portion 4 and the club head 5 form, at a jointing site therebetween, an abutting condition exhibiting a smooth surface. As such, the amount of filling material needed in the welding operation is reduced and the welding operation can be carried out more easily to thereby shorten the operation time. Further, a grinding operation performed subsequent to the welding operation can be made efficient for the jointing site exhibits a smooth surface and the grinding operation can be precisely controlled and performed so that the quality of the club is improved and the manufacturing costs are reduced. Further, the shank 3 is made by lathing, which can be done more easily than forging and the operation time is shortened, but providing higher quality and improving passing rate of products.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. (canceled)
 2. In a golf club head having an opening in which is fitted a shank, the improvement wherein said shank having an intermediate portion provided with an outward flaring sector-shaped connection configured to provide a smooth joint with a top of said golf club head when said shank is inserted in said opening of said golf club head. 